Vanilla Twilight
by Emerald Moonrose
Summary: Stars make Zexion think. He doesn't know whether it's because of the stars themselves, or who the stars remind him of. Based off the song by Owl City. AU


A/N: Based off the song by Owl City. More of a drabble than a oneshot, due to the lack of editing. All the same, hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Zexion couldn't see the stars here.

That was what bothered him the most. Back home, where he belonged, the night sky was always alive with sparkling lights, and when he couldn't sleep, he could count them, making it to a thousand before he had to start over. Here, clouds covered everything, and the only lights visible were the ones belonging to the neighbors and the city nearby, reflecting off the clouds to make it bright enough to see everything with ease. On the rare night that the sky was clear, there was only a few stars visible, three or four each night that Zexion had to strain to see.

He always was the most comfortable with the dark; back home, he wouldn't ever bother turning on the lights in his room, instead leaving the luminescent glow from the moon and the stars to illuminate the space around him. The only time that ever changed was when _he_ was around. _Demyx_.

Three in the morning, and Zexion found himself laying on the couch and staring out the window, focusing intently on one of the few orbs that had showed itself. He should have been in bed asleep by now, but he knew there was no chance of that. Funny, how of all the things that made him nostalgic, it was massive, shining balls of plasma held together by gravity. Over a thousand miles away, Demyx could be looking at the same stars, and when he thought of it that way, Zexion could almost pretend that he was only a few minutes away from him instead of a few days.

For several seconds, Zexion contemplated being jealous of the stars. They could shine without a care in the world, watch over everything and everyone. Distance didn't matter to them; they could be seen from anywhere, so long as you were looking up at the same night sky. Time passed indefinitely, and yet, nothing changed for them.

Zexion checked the clock. Four thirty. He knew that he should go to sleep now, since he had to be up in approximately two and a half hours, but it was too alien of a concept now. After spending so many nights with Demyx, it felt so strange to lay in a bed by himself, lacking the dip in the bed where another body would lie, an arm wrapped protectively around the other. Before Demyx, he had loathed physical contact, avoiding it as much as he could, but Demyx craved it. A light touch, wrapping his hand around Zexion's, spontaneous hugs. Something he had once scoffed at was now something he missed desperately.

Or maybe it was just the owner of those touches that he missed.

Zexion closed his eyes and dreamed of blue eyes and soft smiles.

* * *

He spent a lot of nights like that- it wasn't often that he could manage to drift off to sleep anymore, and as so stayed up, watching and waiting to see if the stars would appear again tonight. It was always quiet around then, a change that was easier to get used to than anything else. It was still foreign, and he had to stop himself from listening intently to the nothingness, expecting soft whispers to fill his ears. And yet, the stillness pressed on, Zexion not saying a word because no matter what, it took two to whisper quietly.

He'd watch the night turn light blue, and his hand would instinctively clench lightly, squeezing a hand that wasn't there to be squeezed. Looking down, he'd frown slightly as his hand relaxed. While the silence wasn't so bad, he couldn't help but feel a small pang of loneliness when he looked at the space between his fingers.

_"-You see these gaps between your fingers? That's where mine fit perfectly. Don't forget!"_

And he hadn't. He couldn't really forget something that Demyx had told him, even when he had brushed it off as the other being silly. Demyx regularly did things like that, saying things without fully thinking it through or even bringing it up again. And yet, even if Demyx only said it in passing, Zexion could remember it clearly. There was no forgetting him.

He'd tried going out for a postcard to send to him once. The novelty stores had thousands of them, pictures of lakes, birds and things that Demyx would enjoy. And yet, when he picked one and stared at it blankly, trying to think of what to say, nothing would come to mind. Sure, there were plenty of things that he _could _say; he could ask about what had happened in the months that he had been gone, tell him what had happened in his life, even a silly _'I saw this and thought of you.'_

And yet, none of that really said what he really meant.

In the end, he put the card back and left without buying anything. He'd find a better way to talk to him, rather than think of a thousand things to say and only be able to write _'I miss you'_.

* * *

When Zexion's cell phone rings, the first thing he does is go outside, just out of habit. Outside was always quieter back home, and even when the opposite was true now he couldn't break the habit. When he makes the call, it's the same thing; except, this time, it's so that when he listens to the phone ring, he can walk in an attempt to ignore the nervousness coiling in his stomach.

He knew he shouldn't have waited so long to call; it probably would have saved him a lot of trouble, and gotten him more sleep, at the least. The idea of Demyx not answering had daunted him too much, and, coward that he was, it took forever for him to gather up the courage to just dial the numbers.

The phone rang, again and again. Right as he's about to give up, the phone clicked, and Demyx answered cheerily, "Demyx speaking!"

Instantly, all the tension in his shoulders disappeared, and he found that he could speak. "Demyx. It's me."

The response was instantaneous, and Zexion stopped where he was standing, looking up at the sky while listening. It was going to get dark soon- or, as dark as it got here-, and from the clouds rolling in, he knew it'd be another starless night. And yet, as he talked to Demyx, he found that he didn't mind as much as he did before.

Nothing had changed in the months that had passed since he left; Demyx still chattered as much as ever, and it was still just easy to talk to him, putting in a line or two whenever it was needed. They didn't even say much in particular; most of it was just random things that Demyx had seen, or something that reminded him of something funny. It was like Zexion had never left; like he would be back the next day.

Watching the sky turn light from the clouds, just like he predicted, Zexion let a small smile break through, listening to Demyx talk on contentedly. Just from one conversation, he could feel himself grow lighter, and for once, he could believe that it would be all right. After all, even when they were invisible in the vanilla twilight, the stars were still there, and one day, he'd see them alight every night again, back where he belonged with his own star.

_Oh darling, I wish you were here._


End file.
